Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - False Synthesis
by Elias Pedro
Summary: Trouble looms in Manchuria in 1939. Disturbing reports from Salvae's Manchukuo Branch reach Lorelei Sankt who sends her most trusted ally, Elise de Lamarliere, to investigate. What Elise finds there, however, is a conspiracy that shakes her faith, unites her with an acquaintance of fate and threatens to shatter the balance of a world on the brink of war. [MPBT Side Story]
1. The Telegram

Author's Notes: Hey there, everyone. This is a side story that explores the Manchukuo Incident that is referred to often in Those Fallen and is set before the events of Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum. This is a side story for the Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum series that I had in my mind for a long time. I only got around to writing it now and I'm hoping to release these chapters alongside Those Fallen.

Now, without further ado, here is Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - False Synthesis!

* * *

 _Magic was not meant to bring us miracles._

 _Those who believe so are fools._

 _After all - magic is a path paved in tears and suffering,_

 _A vicious cycle that we ourselves have made._

 _With every passing day, the pain subsides bit by bit,_

 _Corroding our bonds to this world and our feelings for others,_

 _Until we find ourselves numb to our core,_

 _Numb to our very soul._

 _In that numbness, I felt the smoke of the abyss,_

 _Shrouding my eyes from this world, parching my blackened lips,_

 _Afflicted by a thirst that water cannot quench._

 _But I am so close,_

 _So close to the end._

 _I cannot stop anymore._

 _I will see this through to the end._

 _Will I finally shatter this pitiful prison of ours?_

 _Only time will tell._

* * *

 **Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - False Synthesis**

 **The Telegram**

* * *

 _June 17, 1939 - Saturday_

It was early in the evening in the city of Hsinking, the capital of the puppet state of Manchukuo, where the whispers of war echoed in the streets. The headquarters complex of the renowned Kwantung Army Group of the Imperial Japanese Army was abuzz as telephones in nearly every part of the complex rang and as messengers carried red-stamped letters from the Imperial General Headquarters all the way in Tokyo into the complex.

Over the past few weeks, skirmishes between border units of the Kwantung Army and the cavalry units of the Mongolian People's Republic and their Soviet allies erupted in the cold yet arid tundra plains along the Khalkhin Gol river - disputed territory between Manchukuo and Mongolia. There were worrying reports from the border guards that Soviet motorized divisions were amassing near the border to support their Mongolian allies. In response, the Kwantung Army headquarters received orders that from Imperial General Headquarters to mobilize its armored brigades and to fortify its position along the Khalkhin Gol.

Thus, every inch of the Kwantung Army's headquarters scrambled to organize their northbound expeditionary force save for a lone, quiet corner at the south-east wall of of the complex. In that corner, the three-story, Western-style building named the ' _Xia Hua Dasha'_ building housed the Manchukuo Branch of the Salvae, Terrae Magicae organization. The hundreds of girls who lived there - all Puella Magi who hailed from Manchukuo, Japanese Korea and Mongolia - watched the Kwantung Army mobilize in awe.

Like those of the Kwantung Army headquarters, the communications room at the third floor of the _Xia Hua Dasha_ was also abuzz that evening when a lone communications officer - a sixteen-year old Manchu magi - began her shift. The communications officer watched in horror as their three teleprinter machines were receiving telegraph transmissions all at once. The officer heaved a sigh, and lamented in Mandarin,

"Am I the only one on duty today?"

Still, the officer rolled up her sleeves and laid down a host translation dictionaries and tried to make sense of the telegram prints piling up on the floor.

The officer began the painstaking work of collecting the telegrams and translating them to Mandarin by hand. There were all sorts of telegrams that came in that evening - many being reports from the Witch-hunt expeditions throughout the Manchukuo Branch's large territory. Messages from the other Branches of Salvae in the region - Vladivostok, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Manila - also found their way into the officer's work piles from time to time.

Just as always, the telegrams that came her way were standard fare messages and reports that she had gotten used to reading and translating.

However, one particular telegram caught the officer's attention. It was a telegram written in German - one of the languages she was unfamiliar with - that had come from all the way in Berlin. What's more, the telegram was sent by the Magni Domina, Lorelei Sankt, herself.

The officer's heart started to race. She remembered that one of her other colleagues was well-versed in German, but the officer had no choice but to translate the document herself.

She rifled through the communications room for a German-Mandarin translation book and found one at her colleague's desk. The officer set the translation book down on her desk and squinted as she carefully translated the German telegram. The more she translated the telegram, however, the message she wrote down on paper sent chills running up her spine.

The officer scratched her head and muttered to herself,

"What the…? That can't be right."

She shook her head and willed herself on to finish translating the rest of the telegram. When she finished, the officer had transcribed an urgent message meant for the Carissima of the Manchukuo Branch, _Lianmeng Hou_. All in all, the message sounded crazy and the officer found it hard to believe any of it.

Thus, she double checked her translations but there were no corrections. The worrying story in the telegram stayed exactly the same.

Left without a choice, the officer stapled her translation sheet to the printed telegram and then headed out of the communications office. She locked the door behind her and then held the telegram and its translation close to her chest as she briskly walked through the halls of the _Xia Hua Dasha_.

Looking for Carissima Hou, the officer checked the Carissima's bedroom, the building's crafts workshop and the main dining hall. The Carissima, however, was nowhere to be found.

As the officer searched on, the contents of the telegram brewed in her mind. Spurred by her suspicion, she started to quietly count the number of Puella Magi she saw in the halls and the rooms of the _Xia Hua Dasha_. Including the girls who were out on expeditions, there were roughly four hundred and fifty Puella Magi there in the Manchukuo Branch.

The number matched the official census of Salvae, the officer thought. However, she couldn't shake the thought that there were supposed to be more than four hundred and fifty.

What's more, the communications officer couldn't find her two colleagues anywhere in the _Xia Hua Dasha_. She knew that neither of them were going to be on the Witch-hunt expeditions until July. Something was wrong, the officer thought. Something was definitely wrong.

The theories brewing in her mind brought the officer to wits end. She just wanted to hand the telegram and the translation to the Carissima and be done with it. She wanted to believe that the telegram was just some sort of sick joke - but she knew that the Magni Domina would never joke morbidly.

As she was struggling with her own mind, the officer reached the small section of the _Xia Hua Dasha_ reserved for the twelve Zealots of Carissima Hou - the Carissima's most trusted magi. Aspirants such as herself, no matter what the occasion, weren't allowed in that section. However, the officer figured that a reprimand was a small price to pay for her peace of mind.

The officer snuck into the section and then peeked into the Zealots' quarters. She made herself scarce and made sure that nobody was watching her. Then, she came across a strange, thirteenth door in the hall - one that wasn't in the original blueprint of the _Xia Hua Dasha_.

She opened the door then found that it was the entrance to a dark, spiral stairwell of stone that was sparsely illuminated by torches mounted on the walls. The stairwell led downwards, further than what her eyes could see in the sparse light. The officer gulped, clutched the papers in her hand and then carefully climbed down the staircase.

As the officer descended into the darkness, a thin veil of smoke started to shroud the stairwell. The smoke obscured the light of the mounted torches and smelled oddly sweet - something like the fragrance of an unusual flower.

Before long, the officer found the bottom of the stairwell where a set of heavy, wooden double doors greeted her. She laid her free hand on one of the knobs and was about to open the door when she suddenly felt the stock of an Arisaka rifle strike the back of her head.

The officer then fell onto the cold, stone floor and passed out.

* * *

When the officer came to, she found herself seated on an uncomfortable wooden chair beneath the blinding white light of a single hanging lamp. The fragrant smoke that she saw and smelled in the stairwell was thick uncomfortably thick around her there in that unknown room. The smoke was so thick that she could hardly see further than a few arms' lengths before her.

Moments later, she felt an unforgiving tightness on her arms as she saw leather restraints and a harness that tied her down to her seat. Her legs were restrained in a similar manner that made it excruciatingly hard to move. Tears started to form in the officer's eyes and she wanted to scream, but she felt a cloth gag that muffled her voice.

What in the world was going on? The officer didn't know where she was or why she was brought there. No matter how hard she tried, she could hardly move a muscle and she was still dizzy from the blow to the back of her head.

Three figures then emerged from the thick smoke and appeared before the officer. The first two were the most senior of Carissima Hou's Zealots - a tall, husky Han Chinese magi and a willowy magi of Pashtun Afghan descent. The two of them wore Arisaka Type 38 bolt-action rifles slung over their shoulders - one of which had a stock stained in fresh blood.

The third figure then appeared and passed between the two Zealots to reveal herself. It was the Carissima of Manchukuo - Lianmeng Hou. She was a Manchu girl like the communications officer and wore her short, curly hair with bangs parted to the side in metropolitan Shanghai fashion. In Lianmeng's hand, she held a slender, silver cigarette holder that reflected the light of the hanging lamp.

The communications officer watched in tearful disbelief as Carissima Hou flashed her a kindly yet sly smile. The Carissima then twirled her cigarette holder playfully in her hands and then turned to her two Zealots without saying a word. Immediately, the Afghan Zealot took out an unusual, hand-rolled cigarette and set it into the Carissima's cigarette holder. The Han Zealot then produced a matchbox from her breast pocket and then struck a match to light the Carissima's cigarette.

Lianmeng then stepped forward towards the tied-up officer and then took a leisurely puff from her cigarette. The Carissima then cruelly blew smoke at the officer, forcing the officer to close her eyes.

The officer then smelled that same odd and flowery fragrance from the Carissima's smoke. It was starkly different from the tobacco smoke of the cigarettes that the soldiers of the Kwantung Army smoked in Hsinking.

Then, the officer finally recognized what that smoke was - opium. The Carissima noticed the officer's shocked expression and smirked at her as she took another puff of her cigarette. Lianmeng blew out more smoke and then said in Mandarin,

"So then, you've figured it out? I'm not surprised. You were always one of my brightest Aspirants. Lorelei Sankt herself said so when she visited here many years back. It's a shame, however, that things would have to come to this. The staircase to this cellar is in an area of the _Xia Hua Dasha_ that only the Zealots and myself can enter. That was one of the rules of this house when we took you in - don't you remember?"

Carissima Hou thoughtfully paced around the tied-up officer in her chair like a vulture circling her prey. She then dug into her pocket and then then brought out the telegram and its translation. She waved it before the officer like a fan as she said,

"You willingly broke that rule to give me _this_ message of yours. Did its contents scare you? Were you unable to believe what you read? Hmph… I don't blame you. Anyone would have reacted that way if they saw what was written here. Well - since you took the trouble of bringing this to me, I might as well read it, yes?"

The Carissima then unfolded the telegram and the translation and then read the message out loud in a dramatic voice,

…

Dearest Lianmeng, stop.

I am deeply concerned by your request for additional recruits for the Manchukuo Branch, stop.

The Manchukuo Branch already recruited 200 girls in 1938 and another 200 in the year before, stop.

The official magi census numbers of the Manchukuo Branch has not increased accordingly and remained at 450 for this year, stop.

This does not add up with our records here in Berlin, stop.

Two hundred girls are unaccounted for as things stand and we have not heard an explanation from your Branch, stop.

We have already sent two telegrams previously but have received no reply, stop.

What is going on there, stop.

Please do not take offense to my decision Lianmeng but I have ordered a team to visit the Manchukuo Branch for an inspection and they are en route as we speak, stop.

I request that you reconcile your records and present all 850 magi of the Manchukuo Branch to the inspection team, stop.

Your concerned friend, stop.

Lorelei Sankt, stop.

...

Lianmeng cackled after reading Lorelei's telegram and them crumpled it up without a second thought. She then brought the telegram to the tip of her lit cigarette and set the document on fire.

The Carissima then let the burning telegram go and flutter down to the stone floor as she spread her arms out wide and cried in a euphoric voice,

"Ah, Lorelei - how much of a fool have you become? What is a Magni Domina but a mere pawn in this game - a pawn who thinks of herself as a queen!"

The Carissima lowered her arms and then grumbled, speaking in an irritable tone all of the sudden,

"Still - if a pawn moves across the table, she _will_ become a queen. This inspection team of hers is going to be a pain in the ass, but don't worry. I'll prepare a 'proper welcome' for them. I'm in the middle of a breakthrough here and I'm not going to let anyone stop me - not even Lorelei Sankt herself!"

Lianmeng then tilted her head and looked back at the tied-up officer with a devious smirk,

"In any case, you must be wondering about the things you read in the telegram. You must be wondering how two high-priority telegrams slipped the sharp eyes of our communication room. Well - what if I told you that I received both of those telegrams?"

Lianmeng then patted her breast pocket and then pulled out two similar telegrams to the one that the communications officer brought with her. The Carissima then said,

"I have both of those telegrams right here - along with the two messengers who sent them!"

The Carissima waved her hand and cast a blast of air that cleared some of the smoke away from the room. The tied-up officer's eyes widened in shock as she saw her two colleagues - the other two communications officers of the Manchukuo Branch tied up in chairs as well.

The two other officers had blank eyes and parched lips that whimpered for help in their obscure minority Chinese dialects. The both of them fluttered between wakefulness and sleep in cruelly short intervals and they were shivering with inhuman spasms that rattled the leather restraints of their chairs.

Lianmeng then took one last, long puff of her opium cigarette and then handed her cigarette holder to the Han Zealot. The Carissima's expression changed abruptly again, this time from mischief to melancholy as she said,

"It truly is a shame that we have to part ways like this. I liked you. I liked all three of you. You were the best communications officers in all of East Asia, but I have to do what's necessary to see things through to the end. The three of you are collateral damage - and so are those poor four hundred souls that Lorelei Sankt seeks to find. All of you will become a part of something greater."

The Carissima held out her hand and then the Afghan Zealot produced a box that she popped open. Inside the box was a bottle with a label written in Pashto and was filled with cloudy black fluid - the same color as the blank eyes of the two suffering communications officers strapped to their seats- and a syringe.

Lianmeng carefully took the syringe and skillfully filled it with cloudy black. She then flicked the needle of the syringe with her finger and said,

"I am charting a path to Heaven, but it involves having to go through Hell. I am very close to finding my way through. I just need a little more time - and just a few more sacrifices. So, no hard feelings."

Lianmeng then nodded to the Han Zealot and said,

"Hold her down."

The communications officer's muffled yet harrowing cries filled the hidden room of the _Xia Hua Dasha_ but never reached the ground floor and she was never heard from again.

* * *

 _January 20, 1939 - Tuesday_

Three days later, an hour before the break of dawn, a peculiar boat quietly approached the wharf of Port Arthur at the southernmost tip of Manchukuo. It wasn't a Manchukuoan fishing boat like the other small vessels docked there nor was it like the destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy anchored a ways off.

Instead, it was a US-made Patrol Torpedo 'PT' Boat that had been stripped of all its heavy weapons and was run by one of the most celebrated Maultiers of Salvae, Terrae Magicae - Serafina Larivenko. The young Ukrainian lady in her early twenties dropped anchor at the docks and skillfully moored the PT boat.

Serafina's eyes scanned the docks and the nearby IJN destroyers to check for any prying eyes but there were none. The Japanese sailors were still drunk from their shore leave at Port Arthur while the Manchukuoan fishermen were being held up at the gates.

Once the coast was clear, Serafina navigated through the interior of her boat and the boxes of food, guns and ammunition scattered about to wake up her PT boat's lone, passenger who had fallen asleep while sitting down. The Ukrainian girl gently laid a hand on the passenger's shoulder and spoke in lightly accented English,

"We made it to Port Arthur, Carissima Elise. Welcome to Manchukuo."

 **To Be Continued**


	2. The Inspection Team

**Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - False Synthesis**

 **The Inspection Team**

* * *

 _June 20, 1939 - Tuesday_

It was early in the morning, just as the sun was about to rise, when Elise de Lamarliere and Serafina Larivenko disembarked from the Ukrainian's small but reliable boat and onto the storied wharf of Port Arthur. The tall, Ukrainian lady brought out a heavy, wooden crate from her boat's hold and then effortlessly set it down on the wharf while the lithe French girl emerged with a leather suitcase in her right hand.

Elise was still groggy from her two-day journey at sea, so she shielded her eyes from the fledgling light of the morning sun. She then saw the frail sparkle of lilac in the gem of her silver ring. Serafina's sharp eyes saw Elise's gem, so the Ukrainian hummed,

"Don't tell me you didn't cleanse your Soul Gem when we left Manila. You know - when a Carissima nurses an unclean gem, it doesn't bode well for her Branch."

Elise grumbled and asked,

"Is that some sort of Oriental superstition?"

Serafina chuckled, "Yes - the Carissimas in East Asia seem to believe so. Even the Carissima of Vladivostok."

The French girl tilted her head,

"Even the Russians, huh? The Orient is such a strange place."

Serafina heaved a sigh and then sat on the crate on the wharf as she said,

"And yet you chose to stay and lay your roots down in this region too, Carissima Elise."

"Did you wish I wasn't here, Maultier Serafina Larivenko?"

Serafina snickered in reply,

"Of course not, Carissima Elise de Lamarliere of Manila. The _Edificio Gumamela_ is in such great shape because of you! The Art Deco is a little too fancy for my tastes, but I'm just a simple Maultier."

Elise folded her arms and said,

"You can blame the Spaniards who built that building and the Americans who renovated it. I haven't touched the building yet."

Serafina then chuckled, "As long as you don't ask me to bring tons of paintings from France or something to suit your lofty tastes, we'll be fine."

The Ukrainian then dug into the pocket of her coat and brought out a small pouch that sounded with glassy dings. Serafina then took out a jet black Grief Seed and offered it to Elise,

"Come on - I'll clean our Soul Gems for us before you go."

Elise refused at first, but the Ukrainian insisted with a smile. The French girl had no choice but to oblige. The two magi transformed their silver rings into their egg-shaped gem forms - Serafina's crimson red gem and Elise's lilac gem. Serafina set the Grief Seed between their gems which drew out streams of corruption from the crimson and the lilac.

As the two were cleansing their gems, Serafina watched Elise who was staring into her lilac gem with unusual focus. There was nothing that the Ukrainian could think of saying however, so she held her tongue and listened to the lapping of the waves against the wharf instead.

Once their gems were clean, Serafina and Elise heard the solemn tune of the Japanese national anthem playing out on distant speakers throughout the port. Elise raised her eyes up from her lilac gem and towards the port where she saw flags of the Japanese Empire rising up on the flagpoles - the banners of the rising sun. Alongside those stark banners, smaller and curious flags were raised as well - the yellow-bodied flags of the puppet state of Manchukuo.

In the presence of the banners of the rising sun, the flags of Manchukuo seemed like nothing more than afterthoughts to Elise. The French girl was no stranger to flags of occupying powers flying alongside those of their subjects. She had seen the flags of the Allied powers flying in the occupied Rhineland in Germany after the Great War ended. Her own _Edificio Gumamela_ in Manila was surrounded by flags of the United States flying above the flag of the Philippine Commonwealth.

Despite this, Elise couldn't help but feel some sort of spite between the Japanese and the Manchukoan flags that didn't sit well with her in the slightest.

Serafina turned her eyes to the tandem of flags rising in Port Arthur and said,

"This is your first time here in these parts, so let me introduce you. Right now, we're in what's called the 'Kwantung Leased Territory' - technically territory of the Japanese Empire that covers this entire peninsula and a little bit of the mainland to the north of here. The Japanese renamed Port Arthur and the nearby towns into the 'Ryojun District' when they occupied it after the Russo-Japanese war. Just don't expect the natives to call this place 'Ryojun'... or 'Port Arthur' for that matter."

Serafina hoisted up her crate and carried it with her strong arms as she continued,

"This whole area - the 'Kwantung Leased Territory' - and the rest of Manchukuo is a mess, in my honest opinion. It's traded hands so many times in the last century. It was part of the Chinese Qing dynasty at first since before either of us were born. The Japanese occupied it next but gave it up after a short time. Then the Russian Empire leased the area - only to surrender it to the Japanese again after the last Tsar's war. Now, for the past seven years, it's 'Manchukuo'. The people who live here don't even know who they are anymore after these past few decades."

Elise hummed with sympathy as she said,

"So you're saying this place doesn't have an identity."

Serafina shook her head somberly and said,

"I think it has multiple personalities - which is why I think that their yellow flag feels kinda wrong. But it's not up to Salvae to play the geopolitical game and decide who should own what. Let's leave that to the League of Nations, yes?"

Elise nodded and the two of them started walked down the wharf together towards the entrance of the passenger platform of the Ryojun Train Station - the southernmost station of the South Manchuria Railway. The two magi were quickly greeted by the brass nameplate at the front entrance of the station which was written in Chinese, English and Russian - '旅順', 'Port Arthur' and 'Порт-Артур' respectively.

Serafina set the heavy crate down on the freight-loading area then dusted off her hands as she said,

"The tri-lingual signs are going to be there in and around the train stations only. When you get off at Hsinking, you'll have to get used to seeing only _Kanji_."

Elise tilted her head and asked,

" _Kanji_? Surely, you mean _Hànzì_. _Kanji_ is the Japanese term for it, but they _are_ Chinese letters."

"Ah, right! Sorry about that - I overstayed in my last port call to Yokohama, so the Japanese terms kind of stuck. As expected of the Magni Domina's right hand - you're already a master of the languages! I shouldn't have been worried about you knowing Mandarin!"

"You flatter me, Serafina. You should know that the _Edificio Gumamela_ is in the _Calle Escolta_ \- the heart of Manila's Chinatown in Binondo, so I am used to seeing _Hànzì_ from time to time. Quite a few of my Aspirants are from Binondo too and they speak and write more Chinese than English or Filipino - though their Hokkien is closer to Cantonese than Mandarin."

Elise then put her right hand on her hip and chuckled lightheartedly as she said,

"The 'right hand of the Magni Domina' also only came about because Lorelei always brought me around on every excursion she went on. This mission of ours is more or less the same. I am nothing more than a glorified interpreter and errand girl at this point."

"An interpreter and errand girl who speaks softly in many languages but carries the biggest and sharpest sword in all of Salvae."

Elise raised her brow and said,

"Theodore Roosevelt would cringe at what you just said."

The French girl and the Ukrainian then shared a hearty laugh.

As the two of them were waiting at the platform, a group of twenty, fashionable Han Chinese girls approached them. The eldest one among them - a tall girl who tied her straight black hair back into trendy twin buns - greeted Serafina with a bow and spoke in passable, albeit accented English,

"Ah, Maultier Larivenko! You're here early - given that you were coming from Manila by sea."

Serafina smiled at the girl who greeted her and pleasantly returned the gesture,

"It's a Maultier's job to be early, Zealot Tian. If we aren't - how will the Branches of Salvae feed themselves? In any case, I hope your Carissima Xiao is doing well."

The Zealot Tian leaned upwards toward the taller Serafina's ear and whispered,

"Carissima Xiao was a little under the weather when we left from Shanghai. I think she's worrying too much about the Hsinking mission and all. But I think we have nothing to worry about."

Zealot Tian then joined her hands behind her back and turned towards Elise with a smile and said,

"After all - we have the right hand of the Magni Domina herself joining us on this mission on the last minute. You grace us with your presence, Carissima Elise de Lamarliere of Manila."

The Zealot then gave Elise a deep, respectful bow and the other nineteen girls behind her followed suit. Elise gracefully returned the gesture as best as she could and then said,

"Well met, Zealot Tian of Shanghai. I assume that these nineteen girls are your wards."

Zealot Tian nodded and said,

"Nineteen Aspirants and a Zealot of the Shanghai Branch of Salvae - we are yours to command, Carissima De Lamarliere. We all wield powerful magic and are among the best Witch-hunters of our Branch."

All twenty Chinese magi formed ranks and showed their silver rings to Elise like soldiers raising their rifles for inspection. A complex expression settled on Elise's face however as she turned to Zealot Tian again and said,

"I admire the ensemble of talent you have here, but we were not summoned to fight Witches in Hsinking. Hopefully, we will not need to use any force at all."

Zealot Tian then said,

"May our ancestors bless us with good fortune then, Carissima Elise. If things play out well - we'll have a banquet with the eight hundred and fifty magi of Manchukuo, and there will be peace for our time."

* * *

Half an hour later, as the Puella Magi were gathered at the benches of the Port Arthur station, the iconic 'Asia Express' train of the Southern Manchuria Railways sounded its whistle as it rolled into the station platform and came to a halt. The girls watched the strange, futuristic train with awe while Serafina folded her arms with admiration.

The train had two Third Class coach cars, a Second Class passenger car, a cargo carriage, a dining car and a First Class state car at the very end. All of those cars were pulled by the sleek and streamlined steam locomotive - the first of its kind in the world - labeled the 'Pashina 13'. It looked nothing like the dated steam locomotives of the Manila Railroad Company that Elise had seen in the Philippines nor did it resemble even the more modern locomotives of Europe.

Serafina leaned over to Elise and whispered,

"It looks like something that came out of the World's Fair, doesn't it? It's the fastest train in the world too, what with the streamlining and all. She normally runs smooth at eighty kilometers per hour, but the engineers I talked to say that she can go up to one hundred and twenty if she had to. A modern marvel, right here in the Orient!"

A cadre of Port Arthur station staff then promptly assembled before the train and prepared it for boarding. Porters tended to the cargo on the bay while maintenance crews ran alongside the entire length of the train for a quick check. As soon as they finished their prep work, the staff members faced the passengers and all said in tandem,

"All aboard!"

Elise checked the standing clock at the platform and was amazed by how quickly they got to boarding. Serafina noticed Elise's awe and she snickered,

"I see someone's falling for the Japanese."

"Hmph… maybe all your time at sea has dulled your eyes then."

"Ah! Defensive!"

Elise raised her brow and said with a crafty smirk,

"Spare me your jests, Serafina. We have to go."

Zealot Tian joined in on their conversation and gasped,

"You're not joining us, Maultier Larivenko? We've purchased twenty-one tickets for this journey - another one shouldn't make any difference!"

Serafina put her hands on her hips then proudly replied,

"I appreciate the offer, Zealot Tian, but a Maultier cannot rest. I have to make sure that the branches here in the Orient are well-stocked and that the magi here are well fed. I'm supplying Shanghai after this, then I should be back in Manila by the time you wrap things up in Hsinking. Send me a telegram when you get there instead!"

Elise then extended her hand to the Ukrainian and said,

"We will have good news for you and Lorelei before long, then."

Elise and Serafina shook hands and the whistle of the Asia Express resounded in the platforms of the Port Arthur station once more.

With that, Elise, Zealot Tian and the nineteen magi from Shanghai boarded the train at the foremost Third Class coach car as the Ukrainian waved and bid them farewell. The Port Arthur station staff then closed the doors and the Asia Express began its northward journey.

Elise was watching as Serafina and Port Arthur disappeared into the distance when the conductor for their car - a middle-aged Japanese man - approached their group. He wore a kindly smile for them and then spoke - with a great deal of effort - in Mandarin,

"Tickets, please."

Zealot Tian and her nineteen-girl cadre brought out their tickets from the pockets of their traveling coats while Elise took hers out from out of her leather briefcase. The conductor diligently verified the tickets of the Chinese girls with routine swiftness but then seemed puzzled when he went through Elise's ticket.

Was there something wrong with her ticket? Elise wondered as the conductor took a pair of reading glasses and a company notebook. After a tense few moments, the conductor then smiled and gave Elise the 'OK'.

Then, the conductor also said,

"I have good news for you girls. All twenty-one of you have been upgraded to the First Class car. Please, follow me! I will take you there."

The Aspirants and the Zealot from Shanghai were all quickly delighted by the stroke of good luck and gladly followed the conductor down through the train. Elise, on the other hand, was unfazed and followed a few paces from behind. This was all too sudden, Elise thought. Something wasn't right.

The conductor led the twenty-one girls through the entire length of the train - through both Third Class coach cars, the Second Class car, the baggage carriage and the dining car in that order. Elise's eyes swept through their surroundings and she quietly took note of the layout of the cars and the faces of the passengers and the crew. She even took a quick look into the cargo hold of the baggage carriage and found the crate that Serafina brought with them there in a corner.

Elise noticed that most of the passengers were in the Third Class cars while the Second Class car had many empty seats - just shy of being enough to seat all of twenty-one of them. Bumping them up from Third Class to Second Class would have been quite the feat, but going all the way to First was something else.

As they were going through the dining car, Elise called the attention of conductor and spoke in Mandarin,

"Excuse me. We appreciate the upgrade to First Class, but this is just too strange. All our tickets were Third Class ones. How did we end up going all the way up to First?"

The conductor innocently scratched the back of his head as he replied,

"I do not know much, miss. All I know is that a wealthy patron in Hsinking paid for the upgrade and sent instructions to provide you girls with every luxury that the South Manchuria Railway can provide! If there is anything at all that displeases you, please feel free to tell me or any of the crew on board and we will do our best to put you at ease."

Elise was dissatisfied by the reply, but Zealot Tian spoke to the Carissima through telepathy,

" _That 'wealthy patron' of ours might be Carissima Hou. She probably wanted to roll out the red carpet for us and charm us to make amends before we arrive at Hsinking._ "

The French girl faced Zealot Tian and sternly replied in telepathy as well,

" _I know that - which is why I do not like this. How did she know there were going to be twenty-one of us?_ "

" _She might have paid a large sum in advance - who knows? If we really are in danger, then it wouldn't make a difference if we sat in First Class or in Third. The Magni Domina herself informed her that an Inspection Team is coming as well. If the Magni Domina can give Carissima Hou the benefit of the doubt, then shouldn't we also?"_

The conductor was watching the two girls staring at each other quietly during their telepathic exchange and was about to call out to them when Elise suddenly turned to him and asked,

"Excuse me again - but how long will it take for us to reach Hsinking?"

The conductor brought out a chained timepiece and then said,

"In roughly twelve hours from now. The Asia Express _is_ the fastest train in the world, after all."

The French girl heaved a sigh and said,

"Alright then - let us continue on to the First Class car."

* * *

Elise and the Inspection Team were then brought into the luxurious First Class car - a carriage decorated with wooden panels, paintings and an actual red carpet that wouldn't be out of place in a wealthy European chateau. There were large and spacious seats beside windows on both sides of the car and a glass-walled observation deck at the very rear with a panoramic view of the Manchurian countryside behind them. A handful of young, Han Chinese women wearing attires similar to those of Victorian maids welcomed the girls with trays of English scones and platters of Russian caviar.

What caught the Inspection Team's attention the most, however, were the miniaturized air conditioning units - among the first of their kind - affixed to the walls of the First Class car. In the face of the heat of the Manchurian summertime, the few degrees of coolness was a godsend for the girls.

Zealot Tian and the girls from Shanghai quickly settled into the room and eagerly helped themselves to the refreshments like fascinated tourists. Elise, however, kept to herself and breezed past the servants without taking anything from their trays. One of the servants noticed was surprised by the snub, so she asked Elise in English,

"Is there anything you would like, madam?"

Elise didn't bother to look back at the servant and replied in English as well,

"A can of tomato soup - an American brand one, if possible - and a can opener, please. Have it sent to the observation deck. I'll open it myself."

The French girl then sauntered over to the observation deck at the rear of the train and sat at the viewing benches there apart from the rest of the Inspection Team. She stayed there throughout the whole journey and only left to use the washroom or to stretch her legs before coming straight to her lonesome post. The canned tomato soup she ordered and opened herself was the only the only thing she ate, along with a roll of Filipino _pan de sal_ bread that she had brought from Manila.

At the tenth hour of their journey to Hsinking, the Asia Express train was leaving Siping Station - their last stop before Hsinking. Elise was about to help herself to a second _pan de sal_ roll when she heard a knock at the glass door to the observation deck.

The French girl turned to the door and saw Zealot Tian there with a pot of tea and a pair of teacups in hand. Elise sighed and opened the door for the Zealot who said in Mandarin,

"You've been holed up here since Port Arthur, Carissima. The other girls wanted to have lunch with you and maybe play some cards to pass the time."

"I'm not fond of games of chance, Zealot Tian. I want absolute certainty about anything and everything, so I cannot rest until we set the record straight in Hsinking with Carissima Hou."

"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't drink anything, Carissima Elise. Here - I brought you some tea. It's something that the girls have been drinking since Port Arthur. We think it's _really_ good, and we just got a fresh batch from Siping Station."

Elise brought out her timepiece and heaved a sigh,

"We're two hours to Hsinking… so I guess some tea wouldn't hurt."

"That's the spirit, Carissima!"

Zealot Hou poured tea for the both of them and they toasted each other. The Zealot gamely drank from her cup, but Elise cautiously sniffed the tea. The tea was some sort of Earl Grey that smelled like flowers, she thought - but not ones that she recognized. It was at times like that that Elise wished Serafina was around. The Ukrainian would probably have known what kind of tea it was in an instant.

Still, Elise tasted the tea and was impressed. It did taste rather good and its careful blend seemed to sooth her nerves. Before she realized it, she had downed an entire cup and poured herself another. Zealot Tian chuckled as she sipped her own tea with a smile of relief.

After a few minutes of drinking their tea, Elise set down her cup and then turned to Zealot Tian with a question,

"Tell me, Zealot Tian. You're the most senior of your cadre. When did you become a Puella Magi?"

"1932 - when the Japanese first invaded Shanghai. A lot of Witches manifested in our town because of that… so a lot of Puella Magi rose up to fight them as well."

Elise leaned back into her chair and said,

"That means that you're too young to remember the time when Puella Magi still fought each other. By that time, Salvae had already united most of the Puella Magi of the world under one banner already after all. So, I assume that you and your wards have not fought other Puella Magi."

The Zealot thoughtfully hummed as she poured herself a fourth cup and said,

"The magi of the Shanghai Branch spar with each other for training, if that's what you're asking. But I will admit that we have not actually _fought_ other magi. But we're not worried. We think that it shouldn't be too different from fighting a Witch."

Elise quickly shook her head and said,

"I disagree, Zealot Tian. Fighting a Witch and fighting another Puella Magi are two different things. We have no qualms about fighting Witches and would destroy them without a second thought, but we hesitate when it comes to fighting other magi. There's a certain guilt that comes with that and it gnaws away at our hearts if we even _think about it_."

The French girl then look a look at her own reflection in her teacup and said,

"There are only a handful of magi left in Salvae who know what it's like to fight other magi, Zealot Tian - our Magni Domina Lorelei Sankt, Maultier Serafina Larivenko and the Carissimas of every Branch of Salvae in the world today - myself included - and only a few others. We all know the horror of having to raise up our blades against our sisters-in-magic - but we all did it because it was what needed to be done. We defeated our opponents and made them yield. Most of them even swore loyalty to Lorelei after that and joined us."

She then turned to Zealot Tian with a grim expression and said,

"But there is a worse guilt that a Puella Magi can carry - the grief of killing other Puella Magi."

A chill ran up Zealot Tian's spine as Elise said this, so she took a big gulp of her tea to calm her down. Elise also started to sip her tea as she continued,

"I am one of those unfortunate ones who have had to kill other Puella Magi. Carissima Lianmeng Hou also knows that grief well."

"W-why are you telling this to me, C-Carissima De Lamarliere?"

"I am telling you this because I am prepared to greet force with force. I do not know what Lianmeng Hou has prepared for us in Hsinking, but I am willing to do what needs to be done to protect our Magni Domina and to protect Salvae, Terrae Magicae. If that means destroying a Carissima with my own hands, then I am prepared to do that as well."

Zealot Tian fell silent as she struggled to grasp Elise's words, so the French girl continued,

"I need your full cooperation on this matter, Zealot Tian. If things are just as you say, then I will stand back and enjoy the festivities at Hsinking with you. However, if my suspicions are founded, then I want you and your team to help me do what needs to be done - or to get out of my way."

The Zealot shakily set down her teacup and then gave Elise a sheepish nod as she said,

"Understood… Carissima De Lamarliere."

When the Zealot tried to pour herself a fifth cup, no more tea flowed out of the teacup. Zealot Tian then stood up and said,

"P-please excuse me. I shall get a fresh pot of tea for us."

Elise nodded and the Zealot headed out of the observation deck with the teapot in tow. The French girl heaved a reminiscing sigh and looked out through the glass walls of the observation deck. For the first time in their ten-hour journey, Elise felt a wave of sleepiness sweeping over her and coaxing her lean back into her seat and to close her eyes.

The French girl's thoughts were starting to drift away when she suddenly heard the crashing of a ceramic teapot. Elise jolted back from her near-slumber and rushed to the entrance of the observation deck. Zealot Tian was standing there at the threshold facing the First Class car while the broken teapot and the remnants of their floral black tea lay at her feet.

Zealot Tian turned back to Elise with a horrified face and said,

"C-Carissima De Lamarliere… c-come quickly!"

The Zealot stepped aside and Elise saw the nineteen girls of the Inspection Team writhing on the red carpet of the First Class car, croaking weakly for help in obscure Chinese dialects. The girl who was closest to the observation deck door was on her belly and was struggling to crawl towards the Zealot and the Carissima.

Elise and Zealot Tian rushed to the girl's side and the girl pointed to the broken teapot at the threshold. The girl then whimpered in Mandarin,

" _Dúcǎo míng… dúcǎo míng…_ "

The French girl's brow furrowed as she asked,

"What does that mean, Zealot Tian? In English, please."

A shadow then formed over the Zealot's eyes as she laid both of her trembling hands over her heart and said,

"Hemlock."

 **To Be Continued**


	3. The First Taste of Blood

**Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - False Synthesis**

 **The First Taste of Blood**

* * *

The sun was starting to set over the temperate plains of southern Manchukuo as the Asia Express' 'Pashina 13' train darted northwards on the last leg of its journey to the capital Hsinking. Orange sunlight flooded in through the observation deck at the very rear of the train and illuminated the darkened First Class passenger car.

Elise de Lamarliere and Zealot Tian stood at the threshold of the observation deck and stood still and silent as they looked into the First Class car with horror. The warm sunlight revealed their companions, the nineteen other members of the Inspection Team from Shanghai, writhing in pain on the car's posh red carpet.

All nineteen of them were curled up into balls on the ground and had dry, blackened lips that croaked weakly for help. Splatters of the strange, black, floral tea sullied the carpet along with fragments of shattered teacups and the soiled playing cards that the girls had been using to pass the time. Meanwhile, the shattered teapot at Zealot Tian's feet soaked the carpet and, in the orange sunlight, turned blood red.

A shadow hung over Elise's eyes as she walked past the shattered teapot. She then knelt down before the magi who had been trying to crawl towards them and Zealot Tian followed suit. The two of them laid the magi down on the carpet and Elise gave her a quick once over. However, the shadow over the French girl's eyes only grew more grim as she said,

"We have been drugged, Zealot Tian. It's just like this poor girl said - hemlock has been mixed in with the tea. You said that you and the other girls have been drinking this tea since Port Arthur, right?"

"Y-yes. But all of us have been fine for the past ten hours."

"That means that the hemlock was only mixed in after we made a stop at Siping Station half an hour ago."

"This doesn't make sense, Carissima Elise. Aren't Puella Magi immune from poisons?"

Elise took the incapacitated girl's hand and then took the silver ring that she wore on her finger and observed it as she said,

"Naturally, yes. It is our magic that maintains our well-being after all. Our magic is where we get our strength from and it keeps our bodies in fighting form. It's a link between our hearts, minds and souls that allow us to unleash this magic too. Only someone who knows about that link could have pulled off something like this. That's why I have a feeling that this tea severed those links somehow and stripped us of our immunity without us knowing."

Elise then took a look at the blackened gem on the silver ring as she said,

"Serafina told me stories of her journey through the Middle East. She talked about a black tea that smelled of poppies that was served in the shadier parts of the port towns there. It went by many names, but Serafina simply called it opium tea."

"Opium…?"

"Yes, opium. It's a powerful opioid drug that has been used an ingredient for tranquilizers and painkillers in the past. We Puella Magi are shielded from these effects too, but if these girls have been drinking this tea since Port Arthur, then their immunity has been dwindling for ten hours already."

Elise then carefully set the incapacitated girl's ring back on her left middle finger as she finally said,

"If we don't get these girls treated, then even this one dose of hemlock would become lethal for them."

"How could anyone do such a thing…?"

"You'd be surprised what people by what people are capable of doing, Zealot Tian. When they have their hearts and minds set on something, they will do everything they can to reach it - no matter what the cost. The person we are dealing with here is no different."

Just as Elise was about to stand, the door at the end of the room creaked open. Elise then saw a pair of grenades that were lobbed into the First Class car. Without a second thought, Elise pushed Zealot Tian down onto the floor with her and pulled her into a nook beneath the hardwood booths.

The two grenades went off and rattled the First Class car with powerful blasts. The hardwood booths were chipped and the porcelain teacups and saucers on the tables shattered while the bodies of the defenseless Puella Magi were thrown mercilessly about like ragdolls. Sawdust, soot and shrapnel rained down upon the booth where Elise and Tian were hiding but there were no cries or shrieks of pain. The girls who survived the blast were too weak to even make a sound anymore and their silence was deafening.

Even before the dust had settled, Elise heard the sound of four pairs of boots bursting into the devastated First Class car. The footsteps spread out around the car and were muffled by the posh red carpet. Elise reached up to the booth's table and picked up a knife that she raised up to use as a mirror.

Elise and Tian looked up to the knife and saw the reflections of the four figures sweeping through the First Class car. The four figures were all young girls who were wearing the distinct light blue uniform of soldiers of the Republic of China army, but Elise recognized their faces. They were the maid servants who served the First Class car earlier.

The four uniformed assassins went around to the bodies scattered about and checked to see if there were any survivors. As soon as they found a survivor, the four assassins brought out large-framed Mauser C96 pistols and released their safeties. They would then meticulously search for Soul Gems and, without a second thought, shoot them at point blank range.

It was a systematic execution with swift and terrifying efficiency. The sight of this shook Zealot Tian to the core, reminding her of the horrors that she herself saw in Shanghai. The loss of her comrades rattled her and the sharp sound of gunfire made her shiver. However, it was the lack of remorse on the eyes of the assassins that chilled her heart.

Zealot Tian then turned to Elise, but the shadow that had been hanging over the French girl's eyes became terrifying - much more terrifying than the assassins themselves. Elise noticed the frightened Zealot's eyes fixed on her, so she lowered the knife and held it close to her own heart. She then spoke to Tian through telepathy,

" _It is clear as day to me now. Lianmeng Hou has become an enemy of Salvae, Terrae Magicae and a threat to the girls of our organization. In the name of our Magni Domina, Lorelei Sankt, help me fulfil my duty, Zealot Tian_. _Let us avenge our sisters-in-magic_."

Zealot Tian was hesitant at first, but the sounds of gunfire continued. With every shot she heard, her fear was replaced twofold by resolve. She then looked Elise in the eyes and gave a firm nod.

Elise and Tian kept their heads low as one of the assassins approached and turn the corner near their booth. Once the assassin was close enough, Elise sprung up with her knife in hand and then slashed the assassin's throat at breakneck speed. The French girl then swiped away the assassin's Mauser pistol from her hands and then pointed it at a the assassin's left middle finger where her silver ring was.

Without a second thought, Elise pulled the trigger and shattered the assassin's gem. The assassin's fierce eyes turned blank as if a light had turned off.

The other assassins pointed their guns at Elise and shot at her, but the French girl took the dead assassin by the collar and used her corpse as a shield. Elise then raised up the corpse higher and hurled it at a pair of assassins who were standing close to each other and struck them down.

Then, with a flash of lilac light, Elise summoned her heavy greatsword. She swung the large blade with ease and then cut the corpse and the two assassins it struck neatly in half.

The last assassin snarled at the French girl and then summoned her own magical weapon - a Chinese longsword that she swung through the air skillfully. As the assassin was about to charge at Elise, the sound of playing cards being shuffled reached her ear - followed by the sound of footsteps rushing towards her.

All of the sudden, Zealot Tian too sprung out from the booth and swung a hatchet made out of playing cards at the longsword assassin. Zealot Tian dug her hatchet deep into the arm of the longsword assassin who screeched in pain from the sudden blow.

It was a sound that mortified Zealot Tian. Carissima Elise was right, the Zealot thought. Fighting another Puella Magi was nothing at all like fighting Witches. The sparring practices she had in Shanghai didn't prepare her for the sounds of pain, the feeling of her card hatchet tearing flesh and breaking bone or the blood that splattered about.

Still, the Zealot had no time to think as the longsword assassin pulled back and managed to slash at Tian with her blade. Zealot Tian then summoned a fan of playing cards with her free hand and blocked the assassin's strike. She then pulled her card hatchet out of the assassin's arm and she roared as she struck her opponent again - once then twice.

Before Zealot Tian had realized it, the assassin had stopped moving and was a mess of blood, flesh and bone. The bloody hatchet in Zealot Tian's hand trembled as the assassin's blood stained her face. She dropped her hatchet and her fan and felt that she was going to be sick.

When Tian turned to Elise, however, the bloodied French girl kept her calm expression and was already searching the bodies of the assassins. Elise picked up another Mauser pistol and stripper clips of ammunition. She then skillfully loaded the pistol and handed it to Zealot Tian as she asked,

"Do you believe me now, Zealot Tian? Carissima Lianmeng Hou doesn't want our team to make it to Hsinking. These assassins were all prepared to kill Puella Magi to that effect, so we have to be prepared to defend ourselves from hereon out."

Zealot Tian fell to her knees, still unable to process what was going on around her. Elise extended the pistol towards Tian again, however, as she said,

"This is how it always starts, Zealot Tian. Killing other Puella Magi never gets any easier, but we have to do what needs to be done."

As Elise was speaking, the sound of a pair of rushing feet coming from above the First Class car reached their ears. The French girl then took Zealot Tian's bloodied hands and made her hold onto the pistol.

Elise then reloaded her own pistol and pointed at the threshold to the observation deck as she urged the Zealot,

"Hurry! They're going to come in through the deck!'

Zealot Tian took a deep breath, steadied her heart and gathered what resolve she could. She dissolved her card hatchet and fan and held the Mauser pistol with both hands.

Then, just as Elise predicted, the glass walls of the observation deck shattered and a pair of Puella Magi wearing the Republic of China army uniforms crashed in with MP 18 submachine guns.

Before either magi could bring their submachine guns to bear, however, Elise and Tian fired and unloaded their Mauser pistols at the assassins' reinforcements. The sudden volley of accurate lead pushed the submachine gunners back and out through the shattered glass walls of the observation deck before they fell back-first off the train.

Elise then tossed her empty Mauser pistol aside and then summoned her heavy greatsword again. She turned to Tian and saw that the Zealot seemed less terrified than before. Elise carefully pried the empty, smoking Mauser pistol out of the Zealot's hands and said,

"Serafina loaded a crate into the cargo car. It had weapons and provisions that were meant for our Inspection Team, but I'm sure that there's something there that can help the survivors of our team recover."

Zealot Tian nodded firmly in reply. However, just as she was about to speak, the Zealot lost her footing and she brought her hand to her forehead. Elise caught the Zealot in her arms and asked,

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah… I just felt a little bit dizzy."

Elise heaved a sigh and then said,

"All the more reason for us to reach that crate."

The French girl then brought out a Grief Seed from her coat pocket and gave it to Zealot Tian.

"Cleanse your gem. It should help prop up your immunity a little bit until we get proper medicine. I have a feeling that we're going to have to fight our way through the dining car, after all."

The Zealot did as she was told and cleansed her blackened Soul Gem with the Grief Seed. The seed didn't completely cleanse Zealot Tian's gem, but it managed to regain most of its light. Zealot Tian then summoned a new deck of cards and, with a flick of her wrists, turned them into a pair of fans as she said,

"I'm ready, Carissima Elise."

 **To Be Continued**


	4. The Zealots

**Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - False Synthesis**

 **The Zealots**

* * *

Elise de Lamarliere and Zealot Tian pressed their backs against the walls by the door linking the First Class car to the dining car. The French Carissima held her heavy greatsword with one hand while the Zealot from Shanghai cradled her hatchet made of cards close to her heart as the two of them stayed absolutely still.

Elise closed her eyes and tried to listen to the scene beyond the door. She could hear a myriad of footsteps along with the unmistakable cocking of even more C96 Mauser pistols. The French girl took a peek through the small window of the door and she saw eight more assassins wearing the same blue Republic of China army uniforms. They assassins must have overturned tables and were taking position behind them.

Elise then whispered to Zealot Tian beside her,

"It seems there aren't any patrons in the dining car - just eight more assassins with guns pointed our way."

Zealot Tian's brow furrowed as she asked,

"Haven't the other patrons and the train staff heard any of this? Two grenades already went off and lots of gunfire! The train should have stopped after something like that!"

"Perhaps the assassins placed some sort of magical barrier to block out the sound. But we can think about that later. For now, we have to somehow break through those defenses and get through to Serafina's crate in the next car over."

The Zealot then hummed and then summoned a new deck of cards as she said,

"I think I have an idea."

"Be my guest, Zealot Tian."

The Zealot opened the door to the dining car and then threw her deck of cards to the ground. The playing cards then coalesced into a human-like facade that ran out of the door and into the dining car.

The assassins were startled by the hulk of cards flying towards them and shot at it with their pistols. Elise and Tian rushed out from their cover with their magical weapons in tow and charged at the distracted assassins.

Elise tore whole limbs off of the assassins with her heavy greatsword while Tian struck them with vicious strikes of her card-hatchet. It was a relentless assault that saw the last two conscious members of the inspection team systematically killing off their foes. Elise took down foe after foe without a second thought while Tian felt as if she was feeling less and less remorse with every strike of her axe.

Blood spilled all over the posh dining car, soiling the carpets and streaking on the walls and the hardwood furniture and Zealot Tian felt her fear turn into exhilaration. Before she realized it, she and Elise had killed and brutalized all eight of the assassins who were reduced to nothing more than bloody messes.

Zealot Tian was panting and her hatchet-wielding hand was shaking but her heart wouldn't stop racing. She was disgusted at herself for all the blood she had shed but she couldn't seem to get enough. The Zealot then said,

"What's this feeling? I'm supposed to hate this, aren't I?"

Elise turned to the shaking Tian with a sympathetic eye. The sight of Tian torn between remorse and thrill reminded Elise of herself from not too long ago. The similarity, however, didn't make the French Carissima happy one bit, so she laid a hand on the Zealot's shoulder and said,

"Come on, Zealot Tian. Let's get moving. The other girls still need that medicine in the crate."

Zealot Tian heaved a long sigh and managed to calm herself down as she thought about her team. She then nodded to Elise and the two of them were about to head over to the door to the cargo car when the sound of a teacup settling on a saucer echoed throughout the empty dining car.

Elise and Tian whirled around and looked for the source of the sound. There weren't supposed to be any more people in the dining car, after all.

However, right in the middle of the blood-stained dining car, there was a lone unturned table where two young girls in travelling cloaks were seated with cups of freshly brewed tea.

The first girl was a tall and husky Han Chinese girl who was holding up a teacup to her lips as she drank. The Han girl had long, black hair that covered her ears and her frame was so large that she was hunched over on her chair and would have made even the statuesque Serafina Larivenko seem like a minnow.

The second girl was a brown-skinned Afghan with straight, dark brown hair tucked behind a light-blue hijab, emerald green eyes and a knowing smile on her lips. The Afghan girl had just set down her cup as she snickered and greeted them,

" _Salaam alaaikum_ , Carissima de Lamarliere, Zealot Tian."

She then set her hands on the table and continued in English,

"How did you like the tea? I made it myself, you know. _Inshallah_ , I'd be happy to make some more! To serve a Carissima is a high honor after all, isn't it? Don't you just love how it spreads all throughout you to soothe the soul?"

Elise furrowed her brow and then held her greatsword with two hands while Tian gripped the handle of her card-hatchet more firmly. The French girl then pointed the edge of her greatsword at the Afghan as she growled,

"Who the hell are you two!?"

The Afghan girl was unfazed by Elise's roar and simply scoffed as she said

"Still belligerent, I see - I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You _are_ the right hand of Lorelei Sankt, after all."

Elise stomped her foot and rattled the dining car as she demanded,

"Answer my question!"

The Afghan girl heaved a sigh and said,

"Fine then, allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Ridwan al-Bamyani, the most senior Zealot of the Hsinking Chapter of Salvae. This large lady with me is Jiang Guan, is also a Zealot of Hsinking."

'Zealot Jiang' simply replied with a grunt and didn't seem so interested in the conversation at all, sipping her tea at her own pace.

Elise stole a sidelong glance at Tian, but the Zealot from Shanghai shook her head. Zealot Tian didn't recognize either of those two people seated there before them. Despite that, Zealot Ridwan wore a sugarcoated smile as she continued,

"As the two of you may have already figured out, Zealot Jiang and I are here on orders from Carissima Lianmeng Hou - and I am in charge of this operation today. We were told to give the Inspection Team a 'proper welcome', but the two of you proved to be much more of a challenge than we had anticipated. I mean - look at this bloody mess you left behind with just the two of you!"

Zealot Ridwan then set her right arm on the table and rested her cheek in her hand as she spoke with admiration,

"We all knew that Lorelei Sankt would send at least a Zealot to investigate us. But to think that we would meet a Carissima - let alone the right hand of Lorelei Sankt herself - here on the way to Hsinking! We were only supposed to drug the Inspection Team and keep them as hostages, but that had to change when we realized that you - Elise de Lamarliere - were accompanying them."

Elise adjusted her grip on her greatsword as she snapped,

"Just what is that supposed to mean!?"

The Afghan Zealot heaved another sigh and said,

"My brew was strong enough, after enough cups, to take down trained Aspirants of Salvae - proficient Witch-hunters too, if my records are correct. Had Zealot Tian here taken a few more, I'm sure the drugs would have gotten to her as well."

Zealot Ridwan then glanced at Tian and her smile turned into a smirk,

"Actually - maybe it already has."

Elise turned again to Zealot Tian and saw that the Shanghai girl's face was flushed and her grip on her card-hatchet was shaky. Her footing and stance were both turning sloppy as well. The French girl clicked her tongue with frustration. Zealot Ridwan had been talking in circles to buy more time for her drugs to affect Zealot Tian.

The Afghan Zealot then said,

"Things were supposed to have flowed smoothly if you weren't here, Carissima Elise de Lamarliere. We were hoping that we didn't have to fight - but we knew that someone like you would be able to withstand the drugs and the hemlock and fight us like you did. You even refused the tea at first too, I hear! That's why I decided that we ought to 'liquidate' everyone instead."

The Afghan girl laughed as she added,

"Wasn't that nice of me? That's how much I respect you, Carissima Elise - your very presence and the threat you posed made me decide to kill twenty-one girls instead of taking them hostage. It would send a much bigger message than what we had originally planned to do after all. Plus, I got to treat myself to seeing you kill Puella Magi too - it was like a work of art!"

Zealot Ridwan then spread her arms out like a curator showing off a painting in a museum a she said,

" _The Massacre at the Asia Express_ , by Elise de Lamarliere! Yet another masterpiece from the most proficient killer of magi in Salvae, Terrae Magicae! Ah~ how nice it must be to be part of this masterpiece! The the thought of being cut in half and spilling my blood all over this soiled scene of decadence sends a shiver through my very soul! Especially, if it's by your masterful hand~!"

She then smirked at Elise and said,

"But sadly, that cannot be. After all, I have decided to be part of a much larger and more majestic picture than this. Zealot Jiang has too - and so have the girls of Hsinking. Well… most of them at least. You two are here to investigate the disappearance of Puella Magi, aren't you?"

Elise shook her head. She couldn't stand to listen to the Afghan girl's insane drivel any longer. She then telepathically spoke to Zealot Tian beside her and said,

" _We need to get the medicine. Let's end this. Now._ "

Zealot Tian nodded and adjusted her grip on her hatchet as well as she could. Then, before Zealot Ridwan say any more, Elise and Tian charged towards the table with their weapons ready to strike.

The placid Zealot Jiang of Hsinking then suddenly sprung to life tossed her teacup at Zealot Tian. The Shanghai girl struck the teacup and shattered it with a swipe of her hatchet. All of the sudden, the blade of Zealot Jiang's menacing _guandao_ halberd appeared with a flash of green light and then shot out from behind the veil of porcelain shards and spilled, opium tea.

Zealot Tian tried to dodge the strike but the blade of the _guandao_ caught her arm and cut a deep wound. However, she only felt a dull, numb and shallow pain that felt unreal to her and made her head spin.

Elise tried to help Zealot Tian, but the halberd-wielder swung her weapon and forced Elise to block with her greatsword. Steel clashed against steel and caused sparks to fly between Elise and her opponent. The French girl struggled to push back against Zealot Jiang's _guandao_ but the halberd-wielder was unbelievably strong - much stronger than any of the Zealots that she had met around the world.

As all of this was taking place, Zealot Ridwan remained seated behind her table as she watched the battle with glee. Just how confident did was that Afghan Zealot? Elise could only wonder.

Elise quickly glanced at Zealot Tian and then redoubled her efforts to push back against Jiang's strength. There was no way she was going to overpower Jiang with just her greatsword, so she looked for another opening. The French girl managed to find one, so she summoned the metal gauntlet of her magical attire. She then stepped aside, dissolved her greatsword with a flash of lilac light and then threw a haymaker punch at Jiang with her gauntlet.

Zealot Tian likewise joined in and swung her hatchet at the distracted giant.

Elise's haymaker landed squarely and dislocated Jiang's jaw. Tian's hatchet struck Jiang's exposed back and dug deep through skin, muscle and bone alike. However, the giant Jiang didn't flinch at all. Jiang snapped her jaw back into position and flexed the muscles in her back until it shattered Tian's hatchet.

Zealot Jiang then dissolved her _guandao_ and grabbed Elise's outstretched arm and gauntlet with one hand. Then, she threw a backhand elbow at the dazed Tian that knocked her out cold.

Elise tried to fight back, but Jiang squeezed the French girl's gauntlet like a vice grip. Jiang's grip was so strong that it warped Elise's metal gauntlet and threatened to break her wrist from sheer strength.

The French girl wailed in pain as steel shards of her gauntlet cut into her skin. However, she was immediately silenced when Jiang started throwing punches at Elise's face with the force of a sledgehammer. Every vicious strike rattled Elise to the very core, but Jiang didn't seem to show even a shred of remorse or hesitation.

In spite of this, Elise caught Jiang's bloodied fist with her free hand and roared as she shored up her strength. Jiang, however, struck Elise below the ribs with her knee and knocked the wind out of her sails. The French girl coughed out blood and her vision was becoming a blur.

Zealot Jiang then manhandled the weakened Elise and then threw the Carissima down back-first onto the unconscious Tian. The Han Zealot then whirled her _guandao_ and pointed its edge at Elise and Tian below her. Elise could hardly move her body anymore but she still defiantly faced Zealot Jiang with what little of her waning strength she had left.

All of the sudden, the distant crack of a rifle reached Elise's ear and the glass of the window behind Zealot Ridwan shattered. A bullet then tore through the side of Ridwan's hijab as it passed by her and then grazed Jiang's cheek. The bullet blew Zealot Jiang's long hair to the side and revealed her dragon-shaped earring from where her green Soul Gem hung, nearly hitting it.

Elise saw the gem behind the blown hair and realized that the hidden gem was the shooter's target.

Zealot Ridwan clicked her tongue with frustration as she looked out the shattered window and said grimly,

"Jiang. We're withdrawing."

Zealot Jiang turned to Ridwan with a look of curiosity, but Ridwan replied,

"Twenty one corpses won't make a difference. We need to get rid of the evidence too."

Jiang obediently dissolved her _guandao_ glaive while Ridwan adjusted her ruffled hijab. The Afghan Zealot then stood up from where she sat as she turned to Elise and smiled again,

"It's a shame that we couldn't play longer than we have, Carissima Elise. We'll take good care of the Ukrainian's crate for you - those were gifts for the Hsinking Branch after all, aren't they? But don't worry - we won't be leaving you two empty handed."

The Afghan Zealot then dug into her traveling cloak and then brought out a black Grief Seed that was pulsing with dark energy. A wicked smile grew on Ridwan's lips as she looked at the Grief Seed and said,

"You were here to look for the missing girls of the Hsinking Branch, weren't you? Well, I'm saving you a little bit of trouble - I have one of them right here with me. Isn't that nice?"

Ridwan then tossed the heavily corrupted Grief Seed and said,

"You can thank me in hell, Carissima Elise. _Khodahavez~!_ "

The Grief Seed landed on the polished, albeit bloodied hardwood floor of the dining car as tendrils of darkness started to spill out of it's black shell. Elise watched the tendrils swirling and spreading across the dining room while Ridwan and Jiang walked out of the dining room towards the cargo car. The two Zealots then closed the door behind them and locked it with a flash of powder blue light.

...

Elise blacked out as she felt the dark energies take hold of her and Zealot Tian, dragging the two of them into a strange new world - the barrier of a manifesting Witch. The French girl fluttered in and out of consciousness as she felt the dining car melt away around her.

The Carissima couldn't make out the strange world that had formed around her and dragged her in, but she could hear the distant cries of the Witch and the shuffling of minions and familiars around her and Zealot Tian. She couldn't tell how much time had already passed, but Elise felt that those creatures would descend upon them at any moment. Tears then formed in Elise's eyes as she ruefully prayed,

"Lorelei. Serafina. You'll avenge me, won't you?"

Suddenly, Elise heard the crack of a rifle again - the very same rifle that she heard in the distance just a while ago. She heard five shots fired in quick succession that tore through what sounded like metallic minions. Those minions started scrambling away from the scene, but the strange presence of the a stronger familiar remained.

Elise, with great effort, opened her eyes again and then saw the back of a metallic beast squaring off against a girl with bolt-action rifle in her hands and an odd sword and scabbard at her hip. The girl slung her rifle over the shoulder and then extended her hand forward, casting bright turquoise blue light to wrap around her. The light coalesced into a long, Japanese naginata polearm and transformed the girl's traveling clothes into a beautiful blue kimono with patterns of morning glories.

The girl then gracefully lunged forward and thrust her naginata into the torso of the metallic familiar and cut straight through. The familiar then stopped moving and then came apart.

Elise struggled to get off of Zealot Tian and then managed to face the girl who saved them. Her ash-green eyes met with the naginata-wielder's deep brown ones and the two girls knew that it was a fateful meeting.

It was the day that the French knight first met the _Girl in the Blue Kimono_.

 **To Be Continued**


End file.
